Sea Vixen
by AcaciaDawn
Summary: Sequel to "A King and A Princess." Tia Foxx is just a normal orphan girl. She works and studies at St. Fenbard's School for Girls, across the road from Hendon House. Until the war forces the school to close and Tia is sent packing to live with her friends, the younger Pevencie children. Possible slight cursing and/or mature themes, will give warnings at beginning of chapters if so.
1. Chapter 1

Sea Vixen.

_Chapter 1-Of course it actually happened._

Poor Tia, she was working…again. Almost every weekend, in the summer, sometimes during school even, she would work with the maids. Cleaning up after everyone else. Five years Tia'd been there, and she was going to be working off her debt to the school for at least another year after she graduated.

"I'll make a good maid for some rich family someday. That's the only thing in my future. It's alright, don't feel sorry for me. If I didn't work during holidays, then where would I go?" That's what she always told us, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and me. She was so hardheaded that we didn't even try to convince her to stay with us during summer.

Celestia Miranda Foxx. She fit the name, which is probably why her parents named her that. Red hair, blue eyes flecked with gold and shaped like a fox's. She had a thin, agile body, and a stubborn attitude. The poor girl hardly ate, what with trying to keep up with school and working, and sleep, she would run herself ragged. We really only saw her during meals and break, if even then.

Peter and Susan only had one year left after we got back from Narnia the second time, and we were all feeling the effects of it. Tia asked us if we felt alright, first thing out of her mouth when she saw us at the front gate. Always thought of everyone and everything else before herself. After the oldest left and went to America, the war got really bad and everyone was excused from school. Even Tia had to leave. But as she had nowhere to go, she came with us to Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta's house in Cambridge. The only bad thing about the whole affair was that we also had to share the house with our retched cousin, Eustace.

"You look like a stray cat," he told her as soon as we girls had unpacked, "If you've got fleas then don't come anywhere near me or my room."

"Eustace! That was rude." I defended her.

"It's alright, Lucy," her smile was kind, "I don't doubt I look a bit travel worn. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Eustace. Lucy and Edmund have told me so much about you."

The look on his face said that he couldn't decide whether she was making fun of him or not.

I don't think I've ever had so much fun teasing Eutsace as when Tia was there to help me do it. Maybe that sounds wicked of me, but, oh well. What are you going to do when you have to live with the one person you despise?

After that Tia was still always working. She always found something to do around the house. If nothing could be done inside, she went outside. There was a small garden in the back, with a green house for the younger plants. I don't know how she did it. Half the time she didn't eat at lunch with us, sometimes not even breakfast, yet she always seemed to have so much energy. She got up early in the morning, and went to bed later than anyone else, after cleaning every speck out of the kitchen.

I wondered how she would like it in Narnia. But I never thought I might end up finding out.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 –Every English girl's dream._

I woke up that morning, and almost didn't get out of bed. Light was just starting to peek over the horizon, bathing everything with a slight pinkish glow. I needed to get up, but my limbs were still trapped with lethargy. So I just lay there, trying to remember the dream I had just had. There was a young man, he was leaning over me, dripping wet, and the ground under me was swaying. Around me were all manners of creatures, they spoke with gravely voices, and there was something familiar about all of-

_No! Those sorts of dreams are best forgotten._

I could finally feel my extremities again, so I hulled myself out of bed and got dressed. Lucy was still sleeping, dreaming of some boy that she fancied, no doubt. Boys were not something that I much cared for. They were a nuisance; they kept work from getting done. And I had a lot of work. Dear, sweet Lucy never understood why I woke at the crack of dawn, and didn't sleep until everything was completely done, only for it to have to be done again the next day.

_Leave nothing for tomorrow that can be done today._

So I never did. It was something that my mother taught me. Besides, what else was I good for? I smiled and went downstairs to begin preparations for that day. Today, Lucy and Edmund would go to the market, and I'd be stuck with Eustace breathing down my neck at every move I make. The garden was one of the few places he didn't go, probably because he was afraid of soiling his perfect clothes. Pompous little prick. How did his parents put up with him? Better yet, how is it that Edmund hadn't strangled him yet?

They were back; I heard them in the house.

"Tia? Tia, are you out here?"

"You know I am, Lu." I shook my head at her silliness.

"There's a letter from Susan. Would you like to join us?"

"I'll be up there in a moment. I just have to finish this row."

"Oh…alright." I could hear the hesitation in her voice.

When the door closed, I turned back to the rose bush I had been planting. It was a gift for Mrs. Alberta, since Mr. Harold hardly ever took notice of anything but his paper. The kindly older woman seemed to love the way I had redone the garden for her, what with the freshly tilled vegetable patch, and the flower bed filled with only the most fragrant of flowers that I could find. This was what put me at ease every day…this was what made it so easy for me to get on with everything that I did during the day. Life was simple in nature. Eat, drink, grow, soak up the sunshine, and sleep when the sun went down. Nothing else mattered in the world while I was out here.

So, when I stood up and brushed the dirt from my long skirt, I couldn't help but smile to my self at the simplicities of life. I followed Lucy inside and went up to our room.

Lucy POV

"_Things are ever so adventurous here in America, but nothing like our times in Narnia. There is so much to do, but we hardly ever see Father. He works so very hard. I've been invited to the British Consul's Tea Party by a naval officer, who also happens to be very handsome. I think he fancies me. Oh, before I forget, Peter and Acacia have finally announced their plans for the wedding. Mother is frantic right down to her hairpins. They want to get married in the spring, when all the flowers are in bloom. Peter confided in me that he wanted for it to feel like a true Narnian wedding, for Acacia. The poor girl misses her old home so very much; it's almost heartbreaking to see her stare in wonder at everything that goes on in day-to-day life._

_If only you two could be here, but the Germans have made the crossings hard. Mother and Father both hope you won't mind another few months in Cambridge…."_

"Another few months?!" Edmund turned around, making his way towards me on the bed.

"How will we survive?" I said, almost to myself.

"Well, at least you've got your own room. I've got to share with mullet-mouth."

"Edmund, that's no way to talk about your cousin," Tia walked into the room, dirty and disheveled as ever. Her auburn hair was coming loose from her braid, and her face was smeared with dirt. "Granted, he's not always the most pleasant of people, but he _is_ your kin." Of course, she wouldn't understand. Tia didn't know Eustace like Edmund and I did. Plus she was always trying to see the good in people.

"Anyway, Peter and Susan are the lucky ones." I said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the mirror.

"Yeah, they're there and we're here. They're the eldest and we're the youngest…we don't matter as much."

"Edmund, you know that's not true. You both matter just as much, if not more than the older two. Your parents left you here in England to keep you safe. They wanted to make sure they had a stable financial grounding before bringing the entire family. Pete and Su went with them because…well, Peter can get a job now, and Su's old enough to begin courting."

I chuckled, "You always seemed to be from another place, Tia. 'Courting.' Why, I'm quite sure I haven't heard anyone talk like that since…" I broke off, remembering that she didn't know about Narnia.

"Since when, Lulu?" her brow furrowed.

"Nothing, just forget it." I looked back towards the mirror. "Do you think I look anything like Susan?"

Ed didn't answer; he just sighed and got up. "Lucy, have you seen this ship before?" he asked, gesturing towards the painting on the wall.

"Yes. It's very Narnian looking isn't it?"

"There once were two orphans

Who wasted their time

Believing in Narnian nursery rhymes." Eustace thought up as he stood in the doorway.

Ed made to go at him, "Please let me hit him."

"No!" Tia and I grabbed him to keep him from doing anything.

"Don't you ever knock?"

"It's my house, I can do as I please." He went and sat on the bed. "What's so special about that painting anyway? It's hideous."

"You won't see it from the other side of the door."

I could see Tia rolling her eyes from the corner of my vision. "Edmund, it looks like the water is actually moving."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. That's what happens when you read all those fairy tale books."

"There once was a boy called Eustace,

Who read books full of facts that were useless." Ed joked.

Our cousin stuttered for a moment, "People who read fairy tales are always the sort that become a hideous burden to people like me, who read books of real information."

I just closed my eyes and tuned them out, and when I looked back up, I looked at the painting. There was something so odd about it, but it really did look like it was moving, like the ship was getting closer to the frame. Then suddenly, water started spraying out of it.

"Edmund, the painting!"

"What's going on here?"

"Lucy, do you think…"

"Stop it or I'll tell Mother! Mother! MOTHER!"

Tia's POV

Water poured out of the frame as if it were a doorway connected to the actual ocean. I couldn't move, I was frozen in spot. I heard them yelling all around me, but all I could comprehend was that there was a tugging in my gut, pulling me every whichway at once.

"I'll just smash the rotten thing!" Eustace's shout pulled me from the sensation, and I made a grab to stop him as he pulled the painting off of the wall.

We were wrestling for the painting, when I slipped in the water and hit my head on something. And everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three~ the Ship**

**Caspian POV**

"Captain! There's somethin' in the water, sir!" One of the crewmembers yelled, pointing out to the portside of the ship. When I looked, there was indeed something in the water…several somethings in fact.

They were people, from what I could gather…and they were swimming away from the ship. Except for one of them. But that one was floating facedown in the ocean. I gathered a few men and dove overboard. The one that I managed to reach was vaguely familiar.

"Lucy!" I called out when I got to her.

"Caspian?! Edmund, it's Caspian!"

"It's alright now, lads. You're safe now." One of the men called to the others.

"Are we in Narnia?" Ed asked.

"Yes, you're in Narnia."

We made for the ship, all the while, the other boy yelling and screaming something about going back to Endlan…whatever that was."

"Hold on," I told Lucy when we made it to the lift. "So how in the world did you end up here?" I asked her once we were on the deck and she had a towel.

"I have no idea."

"Caspian!" Ed called out.

"Edmund, it's good to see you."

"Didn't you call us?" Lucy asked.

"No, not this time." I could feel my brow furrow.

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm just glad to be back."

And after a few quite amusing moments of watching their cousin yelling, demanding, and then fainting, my attention was otherwise occupied.

"My lord! This one's not breathing!" the same man who alerted us to the stowaways in the first place called to me.

I made my way through the crowd that had gathered around the limp form of a young woman.

"Tia!" Lucy dropped down next to the unconscious girl. "What do we do? She can't have drowned; she's always been the best swimmer I've ever known."

"Lu, look at her head." Edmund pointed out. There was a bloody mark on her forehead, almost concealed by her hair.

"Let me see her," I knelt down and placed my head on her chest. She wasn't breathing, but she wasn't dead, either. Her heart was still beating, although faintly. "Alright, you might want to move back." I placed my hands on her chest and began pumping out the water. It began dribbling from her mouth, so I shifted her head so that it drained out. When she still wasn't breathing, I lowered my mouth to hers and plugged her nose. Hesitantly, I placed my lips on hers and breathed into her. I felt her begin to gurgle, so I moved out of the way, and shifted her onto her side. Then, she promptly vomited out the water that had kept her from breathing.

Tia POV

I was floating, without a care in the world…except for the burning in my chest from lack of air. Suddenly, there was a rib-cracking pressure on my chest, and then, a feather-light touch on my mouth. And air, glorious air….then I threw up. As I retched up the water in my lungs, there was a warm hand on my back, rubbing and occasionally patting to help me expel the salty liquid.

"There you go, get it all up. That's it." I rolled on my back and was blinded for a moment. When did the sun come out from the ever present clouds? And why was I wet?

Once my eyes adjusted, I was able to see my savior, the one who had pushed life back into me.

"Miss, are you alright?" his voice was distorted, probably from the water that was still sitting in my ears. "Miss? Can you hear me?"

"Where…where am I?"

"You're on the _Dawn Treader_, miss." He was handsome. Tan skin, chocolaty eyes, and dark hair that hung in soaked locks around his face.

"Tia!" everyone turned towards the voice.

"Lucy? What are you…how did…"

"It's alright. This is Narnia. Remember, all those stories I told you?"

I was frozen, despite the warmth of the sun beating down on us. "They weren't just stories?" I whispered, not exactly trusting my voice.

"Yes," she beamed, "This is Narnia. Well, actually, we're on a ship east of Narnia. This is Caspian. He's the new king of Narnia, remember?"

I stared at her, then at the man who knelt before me, a worried expression on his kingly face… "Oh, you-your Majesty…" I tried to bow, but I was still weak from my near death experience, and ended up falling into him instead.

"Whoa, steady there, miss. There's no reason for you to bow. You're weak. Come on, we'll find you some dry things and then you can rest." He helped me up and turned, "Lucy, would you mind helping her once we find something for you two to wear?"

"Of course." She smiled and followed us.

As we made our way down into the hull (thank you long lost father…damn naval officers) I couldn't help but notice the way the man…Caspian's…arm flexed when he moved. But my body was growing steadily weaker as we continued. So, little by little, his majesty had to support me more and more. When we finally got to a bit more secluded area where Lucy and I could change, he set me down on a crate and turned to Lu.

"I'll be right back, keep an eye on your friend. We don't want another incident like your cousin."

"Celestia." I muttered.

"What was that?" he turned back to me.

"My name…it's not her, or she, or your friend…it's Celestia. Most people just call me Tia, though."

He smiled, he had a nice smile. "Well then, Miss Celestia, welcome aboard the _Dawn Treader_." He bowed to me in a way that seemed most natural, and I couldn't help but smile back, though a bit timidly.

"Thank you…for everything. I really am sorry for any inconvenience I may cause."

"It's no trouble at all, Miss Celestia."

_Well if this is what everyone here is like, I think I may just fit in here in Lucy's fairy tale kingdom._


End file.
